Got all valves cleaned up great.
Not spic and span shiny brand new ones, but still cleaned up quite well.
After a bit of ingenuity regarding the pretty intense level of carbon buildup on the exhaust
valves both on the stem and on the bottom, I managed to get it all removed from all the valves.
Had to resort to putting a small diameter wire brush into a drill press and dropped each valve into
the pass thru hole on the deck, then lowered the spinning brush to the valve face and went to work.
I had to do some pretty stiff pulling on the arm to get it to cut down to the face of the valve on a few,
but with some shifting and maneuvering, I got them done.

I now have the heads completely re-assembled and the trunion upgraded rocker arms are bolted down
with ARP hardware that was provided in the Comp kit. Haven't torqued them down yet though.
I got a bit curious about the looks with the fresh paint on the block, so I set the heads on the block
carefully and put 2 bolts in each just to keep them safely attached to the block.


I am starting to be a happy camper!!

Tomorrow will be the big day for the powerglide.
It is getting a complete rebuild with Kevlar band, trans brake valve body,
JW Ultra Bell front bell housing, and the guy doing the rebuild is also giving
me a scatter shield but I will need to either buy or fabricate the brackets to mount it to the transmission.

 

Well, yesterday was a day of bad news, worse news, and suddenly a huge delay in the transmission rebuild.
The 5.3 was deemed non-fixable by the machine shop the seller uses.
So I took it back and swapped it out for a 6.0 short block.
Gonna get it cleaned all up in the morning and hopefully start putting it towards mockup.
This transmission has the 16 spline output shaft, which means I can only run a 1310 series ujoint.
Or at least that's all I have found so far.
I did find a shop that has the 27 spline 1350 ujoint and also the 31 spline 1350 output shaft (turbo 400).

 

Well, today was a day of a LOT of waiting around and not getting much done.
I sold an iPhone I had traded for, then stopped off and got the tires put on my dually,
all 6 which ended up costing me $66.
Tomorrow I am going back to the yard I got the 6.0 from and take back a couple parts
I managed to forget to take back with the bad engine.
Hopefully I can get a good starter and alternator from him for this 6.0.
Then when I get back I will be soaking and cleaning the 6.0 and starting to get it ready for re-assembly.
Priced head gaskets from local Napa and about choked when he said $76 per head gasket.
DAMMIT BATMAN!!
So I checked online on eBay and found a full head gasket kit for $87.
Haven't ordered it yet because I want to know if this block is good as well before doing anything major to it.
So I plan to pull the cam/lifters out in the morning and see if the bearings are ok.
If they don't appear to have any damage showing,
I will reinstall my race cam and try spinning it a few times to see how it does.
If it has any play in any of the journals I will probably go ahead and spend the money for getting new cam bearings installed.
It will be a few weeks before I get that done.
I have to get some of this other stuff I have ran up on credit cards and the credit line paid back down first.
Plus I have a new hospital bill from the outpatient procedure Monday morning to pay for.
I will get some pictures in the morning before cleaning and tearing into the cam removal so you can see a before and after of it.

 

It's like $75 with the bearings to have cam bearings installed. If 1 was an issue or they ran it low on oil, I would just do it.

Cam bearing set is about $25, but you need the correct set for your block.

The OEM head gaskets are less expensive than the one's you get at the Auto parts store.
12589227 they are like $40 each.

 

I have the engine as far together as I can get it without having head gaskets and other significant items, such as 6LS box, intake, head gaskets, carb, long tube headers, radiator hoses, electric fan, and all the small stuff along the way..

I did get the oil pan put on, got the bad harmonic balancer removed and another installed, got the cam swapped, and have everything ready for some ARP head studs to be inserted and then put on the head gasket and then the 243 heads.

I am going to swap the plugs in Mom's F150 in the morning before moving some stuff around and getting the S15 back in the garage for some significant teardown work.

I am hoping to get the driveshaft out, the motor mounts swapped, the engine set on the mounts, the entire dash out, seats removed, carpet removed, wiring harness removed, and the panel from the driver door removed. I would like to get the passenger window replaced with plexiglass but no money to do that this time around. Maybe in a few weeks once I am back to work.


I have a couple pics below.

 

Ordered head gaskets and transmission filter spacer for the deep transmission pan..


Didn't get to do much to the S15 itself except this afternoon before I left
I went through and cleaned all the stuff out of the interior. Got the cheap
tach out also.


I was seriously tempted to dig into removing the whole dash and cluster out
of the truck, but time just was not on my side for being able to get anything
done but make a mess. So I opted to not make the mess.

 

Well I have officially decided to gut the interior of everything non-essential,
such as passenger seat, vinyl floor, dash, instrument cluster, and all ducting and wiring.


I intend to put it all up for sale pretty soon, but I want to get it ALL out first.
I am keeping the seats for now until I can find a wide racing seat that will work for my big ***.
I already have a heat gun to remove the insulation that uses the glued up tar **** if there is any.


For now, the steering column will stay, although I may try to move it forward some if I can.
Will have to do some checking and see. If I can move it forward about 3 to 5 inches, I will be happy.

 

If there is anything in the interior anyone may want and be willing to pay shipping cost for, I will be happy to send it to you at no cost except shipping. The panel with the 3 gauges will NOT have the gauges in it if you want that.

 

WOOHOO!! Front and mid plates are in, along with the ARP head stud kit.


Once I get home I should be able to keep myself quite occupied with this project providing the guy doing the transmission manages to finish plugging the hole in the rear fluid pump so it will function properly. He is dragging *** about getting it done cause I am out on the road.

 

Well ****.. damn head stud kit is for the later model LS engines.
My block is an 02 but the heads are 05...
So I bought the set to match the heads and that was a mistake.
Cost me $300 for the damn stud kit.
I look for the ones for the earlier setups and they are $1000+!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT THE ****!!!!


plus the trans pan I bought wont fit the transmission with the transbrake valve body.
It hits on the inside.
I am about 95% certain that by the time I got it clearanced inside to fit,
it would be ground all the way thru the pan.